Does Rand Paul Have the Answers for Reopening from Lockdowns?
We need a plan that includes preventing deadly and economy-crushing outbreaks
Dear Senator Paul (and all Libertarians):
I agree that Americans need to get back to work if at all possible. And the apparent COVID-19 infection fatality rate of around 0.05 for people under age 60 points to an opportunity to do so. You and other conservatives seem to be saying we just need to have high-risk people stay home and otherwise reopen now. And you appear to be betting on governors and residents of states like Georgia and Florida being able to do it successfully right now.
Count me in IF we can reopen and prevent uncontrolled transmission. We’ve seen COVID-19 kill almost 100,000 Americans in 5 months. Not controlling the spread could lead to many thousands more deaths AND wreck the economy even more. Dead and sick workers are unproductive. A massive and sustained outbreak could also destroy the healthcare system. There’s a reason no country on Earth has been able to just ride this out without major human and economic costs. That includes Sweden. The virus is nasty enough to wreak havoc, even though most recover from it.
The market didn’t incentivize being prepared for a pandemic. We obviously weren’t. Nor did it incentivize aggressively responding once it hit us. A company wouldn’t have increased profit by shutting down earlier than the competition. The market is also unlikely to incentivize businesses taking the necessary precautions to prevent uncontrolled transmission. Many are expensive. Which could explain why Mitch McConnell is insisting on legal protection for businesses whose employees get sick or die on the job. Can you present a scenario in which market incentives could promote public health right now? If not, I ask you:
- Excepting emergency bail-outs and stimulus bills, is sticking to market principles worth potentially destroying communities, the healthcare system, and the economy?
- Or do you think that Americans could and should somehow tolerate mass illness and death better than other countries?
- Is there a way to prevent uncontrolled transmission other than with government-based interventions like those below?
- Is your current plan to just roll the proverbial dice and hope for the best?
Basic individual precautions (modeled by you, the POTUS, and others):
- Increased hand-washing and mask-wearing when around others
- More consistent distancing whenever possible
Support for businesses to make it safer for workers:
- PPE provision when being in close proximity to others is necessary
- Redesigned work and school spaces or practices to allow for effective distancing
- Paid sick leave so those infected can afford to stay home rather than endanger coworkers
- Sufficient wages and access to training programs to be able to attract others to fill in when people are out sick
Tracking infections:
- More testing based on zones (e.g., 2,500 for every daily death in a yellow zone) using subsidized fast and easy (e.g., spit-based) at-home kits
- Contact tracing throughout the country
Identifying and isolating infected people through:
- Paid quarantines like in Iceland
- Affordable and accessible healthcare for all like in France
- Special care facilities (e.g., isolation dorms) like in South Korea
Supporting other high-risk groups:
- Protecting Social Security payments
- Creative solutions to maintain connection for isolated people
- Expanded mental health services for those in extended isolation
- Payments or new job training to support people with high-risk pre-existing conditions who need to stay isolated
- Providing homeless and incarcerated populations with resources (masks, healthcare, tiny homes for the homeless?) to prevent outbreaks
This list is by no means, as you might put it, “the end all.” It does include approaches used successfully elsewhere. Other ideas are based on reports about increased depression and anxiety and infection spikes in at-risk populations.
You and I disagree about many things. But we both desire better economic health. Please clarify your reopening plan and the assumptions on which it is based. If you’d like a table to compare risks of different options and assumptions, I also made one of those.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Citizen
